MUSICAL EXPERIENCES AND EMOTIONAL CRISES IN THE PSYCHOLOGICAL PROCESS OF MARRIAGE – A JOINT PASTORAL PSYCHOLOGY AND MUSIC PSYCHOLOGY PERSPECTIVE
MUSICAL EXPERIENCES AND EMOTIONAL CRISES IN THE PSYCHOLOGICAL PROCESS OF MARRIAGE – A JOINT PASTORAL PSYCHOLOGY AND MUSIC PSYCHOLOGY PERSPECTIVE

Summary/Abstract: This study examines the marriage ceremony from the perspectives of pastoral psychology and music psychology, with a particular focus on the emotional dynamics of natural developmental crises and the emotion-regulating role of music. Marriage, as a transition to a new life stage, involves a significant psychosocial transformation, in which ambivalent emotions, such as joy, uncertainty, anxiety, and fear of commitment, all emerge. This study demonstrates how music – particularly personally selected, jointly enjoyed, or ritually embedded musical pieces – can contribute to the resolution of emotional tensions, identity integration, and a deepening of communication within the couple. Music does not merely appear as an aesthetic element in the wedding ritual but functions as an affective mediator: it structures experiences, aids in emotional reframing, and supports the constructive processing of a crisis. Jointly listening to music creates an opportunity for reflective dialogue and becoming aware of the mourning process surrounding past relationship experiences, as well as aiding in reinforcing to concept of commitment. The study also integrates the theological and cultural-historical dimensions of marriage, highlighting that music, as one of the oldest ritual elements in human culture, can serve as an important tool for the emotional stabilization of relational transitions. The study’s interdisciplinary approach contributes to music psychology research by interpreting the function of musical experiences within the psychological context of a specific life event, namely marriage.

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